Open hole packer



June. 11,' i1940. R. E'. o'poNNELl.

OPEN H'OLE PAOKER Filed June 8. 1939 2 She`etS-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS.

- slips to casingin the well.

Patented June 11, 1940 PATENT OFFICE l 2,204,313 i 4 OPEN nous PAcKimRoland ODonnell, Midland, Tex., assigner to Halliburton Oil WellCementing Company,

I Duncan, Okla.

Application June 8, 1939, Serial No. 278,051

3 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to packers adapted for vuse in,oil wells, andmore particularly to packers provide a packer in the open hole whichwillhold uid under pressure. Thus, where the Well is being cemented by whatis known as a squeeze job in which the cement is forced under high pumppressure down through tubing and ofi into the formation of the well, itis necessary to prevent the cement from flowing upwardly on the outsideof the tubing. As commonly practiced heretofore, the cement has beenprevented from moving upwardly on the outside of the tubing b v means ofa cement retainer set by means of It is sometimes desirable, however, tocement off a formation some distance below the shoe of the casing whilepreventing the flow of cement into another formation below the shoe ofthe casing but above the formation being cemented. The presentarrangement, wherein the packer is set and secured in the open holebeneath the shoe of the casing and so arranged as to withstandYconsiderable prese sure. is intended to solve this problem.

Packers of the type herein shown and described may also be used toadvantage in connection with the acidizing ofoil wells. They areparticularly adapted for use in connection with combination acidizingand cementing operations of the type shown, described and claimed in theUnited States ,e patent to William D. Owsley, et al., No. 2,163,449,

for Method of treating a well, granted June 20, 1939. y

Accordingly, it is one object of the invention to provide a packerwhichwill be capable of withstanding high pressure when seated withinthe open portion of an oil well or the like.

It is another object of the invention to devise novel meansforsupporting and securing a packer in the open portion of an oil welland to provide novel means for connecting tubing or other conduit meansthereto.

It is still another object of the invention to provide novel means forsecuring and sealingl a valve in theopen portion of an oil well.

It is still another object of the invention to provide novel means forsetting a packer in a well and for detachably connecting tubing thereto.

Other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of thearrangement and construc- .tion of parts as will be apparent from thefollow- (Cl. 16S-10) ing description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical, cross-sectional View of' a section of the openportion of an oil well showing apparatus constructed in accordance with5 the present invention being loweredftherein;

Figure 2 is a vertical, cross-sectional view of the open portion of anoil well with they same apparatus asv that ,shown in Figure 1 locatedtherein, thisgure showing the position of the 10 parts when the packeris set; 1

Figure 3is an enlarged, vertical, cross-sectional view of the packersetting apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2, the view being taken atright angles to the section illustrated in Figures 1 and 2; 1.5

Figure 4 is an enlarged, vertical, cross-sectional view of the packerassembly of the apparatus of Figures 1 and 2, the view being taken atright angles to the sections shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 5 is a transverse-sectional view yof the 20 apparatus shown inFigure 3, taken on the lines 5--5 thereof; and l Figure 6 is a diagramshowing va development of the slot used in connecting the packer settingtool to the packer assembly and showing in dotted lines the positions ofthe connecting pins during various operations of the arrangement.

Referring to the drawings 'inv detail, and rst to the assembly oftheapparatus shown in Figures `1 and 2, it will be seen that the open por-30 tion of an oil well is there illustrated at Il. Within the well,apparatus lconstructed in accordance with the present inventiomislowered upon tubing or other` pipe, as illustrated at I2.- The apparatusof the present invention consists of two assemblies, one being thepacker assembly and the other the assembly used in setting the packer,the packer setting assembly being con-A nected to the tubing I2 andcarrying the packer assembly at its lower end through pin and slotconnections as will presently be described. l 40 The packer settingassembly includes a section of pipe I3 screw threaded into the tubing I2and which is called a neck. The lower end of this neck is connected byscrew threads I4 to a collar I5, and the collar is in turn connected'byscrew lthreads I6 to a depending inner sleeve I1. The

sleeve I 'I extends down over a head I8 on a mandrel I9 which forms partof the packer assembly, .and the sleeve I1 is connected to the head 50IB 'by pin and slot connections, the slot being in the sleeve I1 asshown at 20 and the pins being secured to the head I8 as shown at 2|.

Within the sleeve I1, there is a packing mandrel 22 mounted for limitedlongitudinal move- 55 ment. 'I'he upper end of this mandrel is providedwith a head 23 which prevents the packing `mandrel moving downwardlybelow the point where the head 23 contacts apacking ring 24. Upwardmovement of the packing mandrel is limited by a stop ring 25 screwthreaded into the upper end of the neck I3. The packing mandrel 22extends through suitable packing, such'as the chevron packingillustrated at 26 clamped within the collar I5 by the packing ring 24.The lower end of the packing mandrel 22 is connected to an adapter 21 towhich a tail pipe 23 is connected, this tail pipe extending down throughthe head I8 and into the mandrel I9 of the packer assembly. Additionalpacking is provided between the tail pipe 23 and the head I3, thispacking being illustrated at 29 and being shown as secured in place bymeans of a clamping ring 30.

The packer setting assembly also includes an outer sleeve 3| which isfitted over the sleeve I1 and which may be referred to as a lockingsleeve, since it functions to hold the pins 2| in the proper positionsin the slots 2|I until it is desired to release the setting assemblyfrom the packer assembly. The operation of the sleeve 3| to accomplishthis will be described hereinafter in connection with a description ofFigures 3, 5 and '6. 'I'he sleeve 3| is not as long as the inner sleeveI1, and the inner sleeve I'I is provided with an enlargement or shoulderI'Ia at its lower end to hold the outer sleeve 3| in place. It will benoted that there are no threads on the sleeve 3| and that it is free torotateupon the sleeve I1.

In addition to the mandrel I9 with its head I3 previously described, thepacker assembly includes a rubber sleeve or packer 32 mounted upon themandrel I9 and provided with an upper shoe 33 and a lower shoe 34. Theupper shoe 33 containsslips 35 having upwardly directed teeth on theirinner surfaces adapted to grip and engage the mandrel I9 and preventupward movement of the shoe 33 thereon when the shoe 33 is forceddownwardly. The slips 35 are held in place by means of a slip retainingring 36 screw threaded into the top of the shoe 33. A rubber compressionring 31 may be placed between the ring 36 and the slips 35, if desired.

'I'he lower shoe 34 of the packer assembly is provided with a suitablevalve, such as the ball 33 actuated underthe iniluence of a coil spring39 carried by a cage 40 mounted within an adapter 4| adapted to makeconnection with an anchor uresv 1 and .2.

Ieo

`pipe 42, only a portion of ,which is shown in'Figl It willbe-understoodthat the anchor pipe l42 will extend to the bottom of thewell and'serve as means for supporting the lower shoe 34 of the packeragainst downward movement in the well. rIt will be understood that theanchor pipe may be provided with holes at vari- Ious points throughoutits length so that uid may readily flow outwardly therethrough, and thatit may be made of drillable material soy that it may be easily rremovedfrom the wellafter the assembly V.has been used in cementing, acidizing,or otherwise treating the well. f

' Devices 'constructed in accordance -with` the present invention' havebeen used in the 11eld,'thel anchor pipe being made of wood or aluminumand the mandrel I9 of Bakelite or castiron, and the shit-.fs 33 and 34of aluminum. 'I'he back pressure valve may be made up of the lball 33 ofhard rubber, the valve cage 40 of aluminum,

and the adapter 4| of aluminum.

Figure 2 shows the arrangement of Figure l with the parts in theposit'on which they occupy ting assembly has been removed from-the well.

In order to set the packer, it is simply lowered into the well with theparts occupying the positions shown in Figure 1. When the anchor pipe 42strikes the bottom of the well, the tubing I2 is rotated to bring thepins 2|- into the proper portion in the slots 2|I to permit the sleeve|'I to move downwardly under the influence of the .weight of thetubingI2 and cause the shoulder Ila to force the upper shoe 33 downwardly sothat the packer is expanded into the position shownv in Figure 2 to forma tight seal with the wallof the well, the slips 35 latching the uppershoe 33 in place so that the. packer assembly is firmly secured in thewell. Cementing, acidizing,I or other uid treating operations may thenbe carried on since iluid may flow downwardly through the tubing |2, theneck I3, the packing mandrel 22, the tail pipe 23, the mandrel I9, andthe back pressure valve 33 into the anchor pipe 42. After uid .has beenforced downwardly in this manner, the back pressure valve 33 will closeand prevent upward flow of fluid in the well after the tubing I2 and thepacker setting assembly have been removed from the well.

As stated above, it is necessary to rotate the sleeve I'I with respectto the packer mandrelA I9 in order `to set the packer. In order toprevent accidental relative rotation between these parts while theapparatus is being lowered into the well. it is desirable to providemeans which will offer some resistance to this relative movement. In theapparatus illustrated'. this is provided by means of the outerV sleeve3| and its associated parts, this best being understood by referring toFigures 3, 5 and 6. As shown in Figures 3 and 6, the slots 23 areprovided with longitudinal portions which extend from the very bottom ofthe sleeve II up to ya'point well above the lateral offset portionsindicated at 20a. The pins 2| on the packer mandrel occupy the positionillustrated in Figure 6 at 2Ia when the assembly is being lowered intothe Well. They occupy the position shown at 2lb when the packer is being-set by the packer setting assembly, and then portion 20al of the slotsuntil the sleeve 3| is rotated with respect' to the sleeve I'I. This isaccomplishedby means of pins 43 shown in Figures 3, 5 and 6, which pinsare integral with the outer sleeve 3| and extend'inwardly into theportion 20a of the slots 20 when the apparatus is `being lowered intothe Well. When the sleeve 3| is'rotated with respect to the sleeve I'I,the pins 43'take the position shown in dotted lines at 43a inFigure ,6,in which position the pins 2| may move `into the longitudinal portion ofthe-slots 20, there being a recess 20h in the slots opposite the lateraloffset portion 20ato receive the pins 43.

Any suitable means may be provided which willl prevent the sleeve 3|from rotating ytoo easily upon the sleeve I 'I. In the arrangementillustrated in Figure 3, spring-pressed, ball detents are mounted in theshoulder portion I'Ia of the inner I'sleeve and fitted into the recesson the loweredge of the sleeve 3|. The balls used for this purpose areshown at 44, andthe springs for operating the balls are shown at 45.These -may be mounted in vertically drilled holes 4l 75 inthe shoulderportion 1a of the inner sleeve and may be adjustably mounted by means ofadjusting screws 41 mounted therein. It will thus be seen that in orderto rotate the sleeve 3| with `respect to the sleeve l1, the balls 44must be pressed downwardly slightly against the action of the springs 45so that considerable torque must be exerted between the pins 2| and thesleeve in order to rotate the pins 2| into the longitudinally extendingportions of the slots 2D.

` @The anchor pipe l2 prevents the'man'drel I9 and the pins 2| fromrotating while the tubing I2 and the packer setting assembly are rotatedto move both sleeves I1 and 3| with respect to the pins 2|, and to movethe sleeve l1 relative to the sleeve 3| as justoutlined above. Ifdesired, other means for resisting rotation between the sleeve I1 andthe sleeve 3| may beprovided such, for example, as frictional washers.

After the pins 2| are in the longitudinal portions of the slots 20, thepacker setting assembly may be moved downwardly to depress theupper shoeI3 and set the packer. The packer setting assembly may then be removedfrom the well at any time, leaving xed in the well the portion of the'apparatus shown in Figure 4, together with the anchorpipe.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been shown and describedherein, it is obvious that various changes may be made in theconstruction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spiritof thev invention *or the scope of the annexed claims.

1. In combination, an openvhole packer assembly and a packer settingassembly for tempo rarily seeming and sealing a conduit in a well,

said packer assembly including a. central hollow mandrel with alower/shoe xed thereto and having a back pressure valve operatively`connected therewith, an anchor pipe for preventing downward movement ofsaid mandrel and lower shoe, a packer on said mandrel above said lowershoe,

.an upper shoe slldably'mounted on said mandrel upper shoe depressingmeans in inoperative position, to prevent the setting of said packerprematurely.- l

2. In combination, an open hole packer assembly and a packer settingassembly for temporarily securing and sealing a conduit ina well, saidpacker assembly including a central hollow'ma'ndrel, with a lower shoefixed thereto and having a back` pressure valve associated therewith, ananchor pipe for preventing downward movement of said mandrel and lowershoe, a packer on said mandrel above said lower shoe, an upper shoeslidably mounted on said `mandrel above said packer Vand having meansfor gripping said mandrel to prevent upward movement with respectthereto, and said packer setting assembly including pin and slotconnecting means for detachably connecting a conduit to said hollow[mandrel in uid tight relation, means for de- V bly and a packer settingassembly for temporarily securing and sealing a conduit in a well, saidpacker assembly including a central hollow mandrel, with a lower shoefixed thereto and having a backl pressurevalve associated therewith, an'

anchor pipe for preventing downward movement of said mandrel and lowersh, a packer on said mandrel above said lower shoe, an upper shoeslidably mounted .on said mandrel abovevr saidpacker and having meansfor gripping said mandrel to prevent upward movement with re.-.

spect thereto, and said packer setting assembly including a sleeveadapted to make connection with a conduit and having slots thereinadapted to depress the-upper shoe thereon and, set the o packer in thewell.

" ROLAND E. ODONNELL.

